This invention relates to multilamp photoflash devices, and more particularly to multilamp photoflash devices with an improved antistatic coating.
The photoflash industry has long been plagued by premature electrostatic flashing of the flashlamps within multilamp photoflash products. Causes of such premature flashing include environmental charges caused by rubbing of the array over nonconductive surfaces. Premature flashing represents product loss to the consumer as well as a potential for causing damage to varnished surfaces of furniture, etc. upon which the photoflash product could be laying at the time of the undesired flashing.
Until the present time, anionic surfactants or quarternary ammonium-type cationic surfactants have been used to help protect flashlamps from accumulating charge due to friction or contact with dissimilar materials. These surfactants are more commonly referred to in the photoflash industry as "antistats". Antistats are applied to either the lamp envelope or the exterior surface of the outer housing of the array itself, usually by applying a dilute solution of the antistat to the surface of the part being coated.
Although the application of a surfactant to the outer surface of the lamp or outer housing reduces the frequency of premature flashing due to the electrostatic charge from handling the array, premature flashing of flashlamps in multilamp photoflash arrays does still occur. In multilamp photoflash arrays containing non-metallized reflectors (e.g., non-metallic reflectors), premature flashing of flashlamps remains a significant problem even after a surfactant has been applied to the outer surface of the housing for the arrays.